


The Three Spirits of Christmas: nightmares, angel, and hope

by ScriptaManent



Series: All I want for Christmas is a fucking miracle! [2]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Chritsmas fluff, Family Fluff, First Christmas, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Merry Christmas, There's also Renee and Neil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-11 08:48:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17443697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScriptaManent/pseuds/ScriptaManent
Summary: Christmas in Canada felt like a dream, it reminded Nicky of Germany and of the wonderful time he had spent with Erik. After all that had happened to the Foxes, after their victory against the Ravens, Nicky had only one wish for that day: to give his cousins a first proper, happy Christmas.





	The Three Spirits of Christmas: nightmares, angel, and hope

Nicky had planned it all from A to Z. He had started thinking about it months ago, when Kevin had told the Foxes that he and Renee were supposed to join Jeremy and Jean in Canada for Christmas. Since then, Nicky had been thoroughly organizing every detail.

He had booked a chalet, brought the decorations, bought ingredients and enough milk and chocolate to make drinks for at least a whole year, and more importantly, he had carefully made a Christmas themed playlist to play in the background for the whole night. For the past two weeks, Nicky had been missing in action at the Fox Tower, secretly preparing celebrations to make them perfect.

Jeremy’s invitation was the perfect opportunity for him to introduce his cousins to a white Christmas like the one he had spent in Germany with his boyfriend, Erik. It was something very special, that had a magical feeling that Nicky had fallen for, and he wanted to give the twins the opportunity to enjoy it as well. Neither Aaron nor Andrew had ever had a proper, _happy_ Christmas, just like they never had a caring family. It didn’t matter that Nicky and they were cousins, none of them believed in blood relations anyway. They had built their own family from scratch, but in spite of appearances and of what they told, they shared a strong bond: Nicky was Andrew and Aaron’s family, and they were Nicky’s.

 

The sun was already high in the sky when he woke up. A soft, warm light was filtering through the pale curtains, and Nicky smiled sleepily in the warm coziness of the bed. He stretched like a cat, yawning and throwing the sheets out of his way, and lazily fell back on the mattress. Even though Nicky knew he had plenty of things to do before his cousins arrived, nothing was more important than his morning routine. Nothing except the loud ringtone of a Skype video call.

“For fuck’s sake, Erik, do you have any idea what time it is here?” Nicky grumbled with a scowl, struggling to hold the phone straight enough to avoid displaying an ugly face. He really hated the look the front camera’s angle always gave him.

“Considering it’s a bit past six here, I’d say around noon,” Erik replied with a playful smile. “Anyway, you should get your lazy ass up, I think you still have things to get done before you’re ready.”

“You’re not going to see my lazy ass ever again if you keep waking me up every morning”, the other complained, but he still threw the blanket away and got to his feet, not letting go of the phone.

“Nah, you’d miss me!” the German man declared with confidence. Then he added, his face softer and his eyes sparkling, “And I’d miss you way too much too. More than I currently do.”

Just with that, Erik made Nicky’s heart melt like a marshmallow above a campfire, like he always did. Nicky couldn't help but stare fondly at his phone for a solid minute, a smile printed on his face and unable to say anything, which was actually pretty rare.

“I’ll be with you in a few months, I promise. And I’m bringing the two monsters with me, probably Kevin and Neil too. You’re so gonna regret this!”

Nicky’s laugh filled the room, soon joined by his boyfriend's. It was good to have him on the phone, it felt like home and Nicky’s heart was lighter than ever. He glanced at the Christmas lights hanging in the kitchen, faintly glowing in the dim light that was coming through the wooden shutters, and he couldn't resist showing Erik around.

The three bedrooms were barely decorated, Nicky had made sure to leave a safe place for his cousins to retreat to if they really didn’t feel like partying, but he hoped from the bottom of his heart that they wouldn’t have to use them. He had put fairy lights in his own, framing the huge mirror that was facing the bed. In one of the other bedrooms, he had placed a simple photo frame and a ten centimeter tall Christmas tree on the dresser. Only a small, illuminated wooden village had been put in the last one.

The kitchen/living room was definitely the place he was the proudest of. Even though the chalet was pretty small, it now had a cosy and warm atmosphere. A real pine tree, taller than Nicky, was standing in one corner of the room, dressed with colourful lights and shiny balls. Some of its branches were covered with a thin cotton-like layer that was reminiscent of snow. Instead of a star, a bright snowflake was pinned to the top of the tree, reflecting the light from the candles flickering on the nearby shelf.

Under the pine tree sat a small village similar to the one Nicky had set in the bedroom, with stone houses, a church, and a tiny stable recreating the Nativity scene. A pile of orange and white presents was half hidden behind the trunk, and all around the scene, a small train was moving on a railway with a satisfying sound, throwing a light “choo choo” from time to time.

Glass jars filled with plants and lights were everywhere, and Nicky had even hung red stockings on the fireplace. A sofa was near the fire, almost disappearing under blankets and pillows, and the carpet on the floor was fluffy enough to be appealing to whoever wanted to lay on it.

“Um, Nicky? What’s that?”

Surprised, the man stopped spinning around and looked back at his phone, then at the direction Erik was pointing at with a frown.

“Oh, this?” he said, brushing a small branch of forest green leaves dotted with white fruits. The plant was hanging above the door, tied with a red ribbon. “Mistletoe!”

There was a long pause before Erik spoke again. “I thought you were only gonna host your cousins tonight?”

“It’s _family_ mistletoe! I’m just gonna hug them!”

Erik stared at his boyfriend with a raised eyebrow, the shadow of a smile at the corner of his lips.

“Okay, okay! I’m just gonna hug _Aaron_ , because Andrew will probably kill me and hide my body somewhere you’ll never find it if I try to hug him, but you get the idea!”

On the phone, the German laughed loudly and warmth spread into Nicky’s chest. He owed this man his life, literally, and even after all these years he couldn’t believe he had been lucky enough to find someone like Erik. Someone who accepted him the way he was: flirty, extroverted , and above all, into men.

 

It wasn’t until two hours later that Nicky finally hung up the phone, and only because Erik pointed out what time it was. A quick glance at the clock on the wall confirmed that he was already late.

Ten minutes was the amount of time it took Nicky to eat the first edible thing he could find , then he started panicking in the kitchen, digging into drawers in search of utensils and cursing heavily the too long recipes he had planned to make for dinner. On the wall, the clock was taunting him obnoxiously. The twins would be there in less than five hours.

It took Nicky another ten minutes to calm down and organize his thoughts. First, he started with the desserts, knowing they’d have to stay a long time in the fridge - and he so hoped the fridge would be big enough to keep all the meals. Then, he put the turkey in the oven, and went on with the mashed potatoes. Only when he was finished, he noticed that the turkey’s appearance hadn’t changed much in one hour. After a few investigations, it turned out he had forgotten to switch the oven on, _again_.

With a sigh, Nicky poured himself a glass of whiskey and prepared eggnog and hot chocolate for when his cousins would be there. One glance at the clock told him he had only forty minutes left before the two monsters would be there, and one look at his phone informed him he actually had only twenty minutes left to make the finishing touches and decorate the table with candy canes and pretty red glitter that would go absolutely everywhere and would be a nightmare to get rid of.

The music began playing in the background, a mix of pop music and Christmas tunes with a few metal covers, and Nicky vanished to the bathroom to put on his clothes. His reflection in the mirror reflected the image of a fine looking man in black jeans, wearing a traditional ugly Christmas sweater on which was written “Kiss me under the mistletoe”. Of course, mistletoe was hanging from the front of the sweater, way too low for it to be innocent. Nicky was Nicky, after all, and suddenly, he had even more regrets that Erik wasn’t in Canada with him for the night.

He closed his eyelids and a smirk bloomed on his lips. ”Maybe next year”, he thought, adjusting the reindeer antlers on his head. He nodded to his reflection in the mirror, grinning, and the antlers wiggled accordingly.

 

Nicky kept pacing up and down, sometimes stopping by the window in search of Andrew’s car. He was wondering whether the twins would have accepted to play along. Hopefully, Aaron would show up with the Christmas sweater Nicky had bought for him, and with a bit of luck and a sprinkle of a miracle, he would have convinced his brother to wear his own. Nicky knew he should have asked Neil to get to Andrew, though. Neil was a safe bet, Andrew listened to him - well, at least he did most of the time, which was always more times than Andrew actually listened to Nicky.

Outdoors, the unmistakable roar of a car pulled Nicky out of his thoughts. Two seconds later he was throwing the door wide open, impatiently waiting for his cousins to come to him.

“We dropped Kevin at Jeremy’s first,” Aaron said as soon as he was close enough for Nicky to hear him. It was both a statement and a form of apology, but the mere fact that the twins had traveled all the way to Canada only to spend Christmas with him meant a lot to the older one.

Nicky nearly teared up when he saw both his cousins in the sweaters he had chosen for them. Aaron’s pictured a landscape of white dinosaurs in a bright green pasture. Behind them, in the vivid red sky, a white meteor was falling down on the clueless animals. Beside him, Andrew was wearing a red sweater with red and black striped sleeves that reminded Nicky of Freddy Krueger. On the front was a patch of flippable sequins that allowed to display either “I’m on the NICE list” or “I’m on the NAUGHTY list”. Of course, Andrew had picked the latter one. Despite the cold, bitter air, Andrew had, as always, his sleeves up to his elbows so that he could wear his sheath-armbands. It was way more comfortable that way.

Aaron’s voice brought Nicky back to reality, his tone disdainful and disgusted. “And what the fuck is that?” the blonde man spat, pointing at the plants hanging from the doorway.

“Mistletoe.”

“Gross.”

“It’s _family_ mistletoe!!” Nicky repeated again, as if Aaron was being stupidly dense, but his expression darkened even more. “Just for hugs, there’s nothing romantic here! I couldn’t bring anyone else, anyway…”

“I still don’t get what’s supposed to be cute or romantic about a parasitic plant that is literally disseminated by bird’s shits and is so slimy that it can stick to absolutely anything,” Aaron retorted, still staring at the mistletoe as if it was going to cut his throat open at any moment.

“Oh c’mon! Don’t be such a party-pooper!” Nicky teased, doing his best to hide the grin that was forming on his lips after this unintended pun. “It won’t kill you!” But Aaron kept staring at him, half-challenging and half-threatening.

“Andrew?” Nicky asked when he finally gave up with the other twin.

Unsurprisingly, Andrew got past Nicky without even shooting him a glance, his eyes locked on the opposite wall. Fortunately, Nicky knew better than to reach out for him, and he only smiled when Andrew stepped into the chalet, he wouldn't have expected anything else from him anyway. Nonetheless, it was already enough of a miracle that the three of them were reunited for Christmas, and Nicky was beaming.

He watched as Aaron dropped into the couch, near the fireplace. Andrew browsed the few books that were on the bookshelf and dropped on the other end of the couch. Once again, Nicky couldn’t help but notice every similarity between the twins, and every difference too. It was in the way they stared at him whenever he’d make a bad pun, it was in their will to protect what mattered to them, and in their distrust in people. Although, Aaron was ambitious and didn’t let anything veer him off his course. He had already planned how he would live his life, and probably how many kids he was going to have too. On the other hand, Andrew was… well, Andrew. Though, Nicky had seen a sparkle in his eyes on the day Kevin had decided to play with the Foxes, and for the first time Nicky had felt hope towards his cousin’s fate. Then Neil had arrived in their lives, made a mess, and somehow managed to stitch the Foxes back together. Since then, tiny, barely noticeable changes had happened in the goalkeeper. As days passed, he had become slightly more moody, slightly more _alive_.

Finally, Aaron lived for the future he was writing for himself. Andrew lived to overcome his past. One didn’t let anyone in, the other didn’t let anything in. Both were constantly on their guard.

“Nicky? Is it the turkey that’s burning?”

An alarm rang in his head, or maybe it was the yelp that escaped his lips, and Nicky rushed to the oven in two steps. The thick, black smoke that bellowed out when he opened the door didn’t reassure him, and he almost burnt himself with the dish in his hurry. Under his eyes, the turkey was coal black and dusty, absolutely inedible, and Nicky almost started tearing up in front of the disaster. It was supposed to be their main dish, and it was already too late for him to go in town and buy something else.

“So, that was the turkey,” Aaron commented in a monotone voice, standing in the doorway and staring at the poultry that had been killed twice. “There goes our meal.”

Nicky stayed still, staring blankly at the meat, feeling down and ashamed. He had wanted to make their stay perfect, he had thought it through, but still he had failed, and Erik wasn’t even there to help him feel better about himself. He had failed just like he failed everyth--

“Move,” Andrew ordered, pointing at the fridge behind Nicky.

The latter obeyed without blinking an eye, too startled to even think. Andrew spent a full minute crouching down in front of the fridge, his expression unreadable. After what felt like a never-ending five minutes, he grabbed the eggs, closed the fridge, and started shredding the turkey on a plate under the other two’s stunned stare. Aaron and Nicky exchanged a look, baffled. Nicky could no longer move nor make any sound.

“Nicky, grab the noodles,” Andrew said on the same imperious tone he had always used. He sounded like he knew what he was doing, and it was enough for Nicky to do what he was told, both out of sheer instinct and curiosity.

Andrew’s fingers flew over the ingredients while Aaron cooked the noodles and added what was left of the turkey sauce. Nicky was in charge of making poached eggs, this he could handle without screwing up. Naturally, he started singing along to the Christmas tunes that were still playing in the background, his voice getting higher and higher as he got into the mood. Suddenly, the music changed to Queen, and Nicky couldn’t help but dance to the rhythm, nearly bumping into his cousin. He stopped still when he felt the tip of a knife between his ribs, and croaked a weak “I’ll behave! But you’re no fun. Aaron, can you change the music?”

A few silences later, three black plates were dressed in front of the trio: poached eggs delicately placed in the middle of a nest of turkey noodles. Against all odds, or most likely because Aaron didn’t ask for permission to add them, sparse vegetables ended up on top of the improvised Christmas meal. Nicky was almost drooling at the sight, it looked far better than his turkey had ever looked.

 

The rest of the evening went on without any incident and Nicky even successfully made it to half past eleven without earning another death threat from his cousin, which he liked to think was another Christmas miracle.

“How’s Erik?” Aaron asked out of the blue when he caught Nicky feverishly typing on his phone again. He had barely put it down for the past half hour, it was true, but the older one would never have expected such a question from any of his cousins. He nearly dropped his phone in his third - or maybe fifth? - “special” eggnog.

“Oh, um, he’s okay, I guess. I mean, he’s with his family so of course he’s having a good day, they really are nice people.”

A fond smile grew on Nicky’s lips as he said those words, though Aaron didn’t buy it. There was something off about his cousin’s tone, but he couldn’t possibly guess what Nicky might be plotting, so Aaron stopped thinking about it. He was a bit sad that Katelyn hadn’t been able to come with him, but she had already planned her holidays months ago, and Aaron had been the one to cancel at the last minute, even if he would never admit it to anyone, and certainly not Betsy. That was the very last chance he was giving to festivities, and so far Nicky had managed to keep the day pretty good. He had put his heart and his soul into it, and it truly showed. He had thought through every detail.

“Should we open the presents now?” Nicky asked around, already up on his feet and heading toward the tree. He knelt down and grabbed a few glittery orange boxes. He handed the flat one to Aaron, and the other to Andrew, who refused to take it until Nicky put it on the floor near him with a sigh.

“I kept one for Kevin too. Liquorice chocolates,” Nicky added with a playful wink, purposely leaving out the fact that he had chosen a box of penis-shaped chocolates just to see whether Kevin would eat them or throw them away. It promised to be a fun thing to watch, and he had already made a bet with Allison about the outcome. Others Foxes had probably joined the game without Nicky knowing yet.

Aaron opened his present carefully, as if it were going to blow up in his face. He unwrapped the last bit of paper and his fingers met a smooth, cold surface. Between his hands was a finely sculpted wooden frame picturing foxes running and playing. In the middle, protected by glass, was a single photograph taken during a night game that showed Aaron running to Katelyn, a huge grin on his face after the Foxes had won the match. The angle and the lighting gave the scene an almost magical atmosphere, and Aaron couldn’t help but stare at the photo in awe. When he finally raised his gaze to meet Nicky’s, the latter had the most genuine smile on his face.

Two words formed in Aaron’s mind, but he couldn’t pronounce them. Maybe he never had, actually. Nicky stepped closer to him, clearly hesitant, and opened his arms in front of his cousin, who was still unable to move or say anything. Eventually, taking the absence of reaction as an invitation, he closed the distance between them and hugged Aaron tight for a few seconds before letting go of him. To the latter’s relief, he didn’t comment the surprise and incomprehension he could guess on Aaron’s face and brushed it off with a sincere smile.

In the meantime, Andrew had picked up the box that bore his name from the floor. He tore the paper apart without any mercy, not any ounce of impatience showing on his face. All he wanted was to be done with it. Andrew didn’t like surprises, he never had and never would, but Nicky loved making presents. For Andrew, he usually just put them in a simple bag instead, but he might have got a bit carried away for Christmas… Anyway, Andrew was quick to unpack the special box of whiskeys Nicky had bought for him. Each one of the eight bottles had a different flavor, all of them way too sweet for anyone else but a man like Andrew.

A quarter past midnight, a knock on the door startled the three men, and all eyes went to Nicky, who shrugged the looks off with a smirk. He gestured to the entrance, staring at Andrew with insistence until he finally decided to go and open to whoever was standing behind.

The door opened to a friendly smile framed by white and pastel hair that matched the snow and the Christmas lights illuminating the street.

“Hi Andrew! Can I come in? It’s a bit cold here.”

Renee’s breath was drawing steam clouds in the air between the man and her, and after a moment he stepped aside to let her in, his eyes locked on another silhouette almost fully hidden under several layers of coats.

There was a long silence, only broken by voices chattering in the living-room. Neil was smiling under his scarf, Andrew could see it, and when the stupid striker got close enough, Andrew shut the door right in his face and went back inside without looking back. The loud noise stopped the conversation until the goalkeeper was in sight, then the Foxes went on as if nothing had happened, used to his humors, even though Nicky seemed a bit sad.

“I have to go, now,” Renee declared soon after. “Jean and Kevin are having a drinking contest. I bet against Jeremy that Jean was going to win, and I don’t want him to cheat.”

Her laugh echoed in the small room and she flashed Andrew another warm smile on her way out. “Good night, guys! Good luck, Neil!”

Aaron frowned and Nicky’s lips turned into a thin line when Andrew deliberately refused to make a move to the door.

“Are you really going to leave him outside?” Nicky asked, sadness in his voice.

Only silence answered him, until another knock hit the door, more hesitant. Maybe Neil was already freezing? Maybe they were going to find him as a literal snowman the next morning?

Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait to know, as Andrew eventually moved and let Neiyou'rel in, to his cousin’s relief.

“I thought you were staying with Coach.”

“He got bored of me after ten minutes,” Neil pretended with a shrug, struggling to get out of his winter clothes. Maybe he shouldn’t have brought so many with him, but Abby had been very convincing and he knew she had meant it when she had threatened to forbid him from playing in the next games if he didn’t take more warm clothes.

“I can understand why,” Andrew’s voice stated in reply without any heat, but his eyes were saying “ _You’re late_ ” as he helped his boyfriend get out of the scarf that was nearly strangling him.

Neil smiled. One of his stupid, genuine, fond smiles that both made Andrew want to kiss him and punch him in the face for making him feel this way.

“Did you guys eat the dessert without me?”

When Neil met Nicky’s eyes, they were full of questions. He was late indeed. Nicky had asked him to join them weeks ago, it was a surprise Nicky had wanted to give to Andrew, even though he knew it was risky, but Neil had never really confirmed his coming. Until the last hour, Nicky had been sure that Neil wouldn’t show up. Even Renee had lied, or more precisely she had hidden the truth.

“I thought that the three of you could enjoy some time together,” Neil explained when he was sure that the twins couldn’t overhear him. Neil was still not used to having people who cared about him, but the Foxes were his family, and his teammates had somehow made their way into his heart - into his life - without him noticing. The least he could do was to try and return them the favor, even though he was still new to all of this.

Dark eyes stared at him, slowly getting shinier, and eventually Nicky leant in to hug the other. Even though Neil wasn’t accustomed to the feeling, he finally hugged back briefly, another smile on his lips. “Merry Christmas, Nicky.”

**Author's Note:**

> Meg, thank you for being my (sea) cow-pilot, as always.


End file.
